‘Gun-Free Zone’ Bill Gets Watered Down in Washington State

There’s a little good news for Washington State gun owners to report regarding a new bill that would establish thousands of new “gun-free zones” across the state. As written, SB 5098 would make virtually every public building, park, fairground, and playground in the state off limits to lawful carry, but late last week the bill underwent a major change, and as the bill currently stands those gun owners with a valid concealed carry license would be exempt from the prohibitions. 

“This is a common-sense amendment that says that CPL holders have roughly one-twenty-fifth of the homicide rate,” Sen. Jeff Holy, R-Cheney, said Thursday, speaking to his amendment. “And I’m not talking about legal or illegal, just the homicide rate [of the] average citizen.”

While there is limited data on how much CPL holders contribute to the homicide rate, according to the Violence Policy Center, there have been at least 2,512 people killed nationwide by individuals with concealed carry permits since 2007. Only 24 of those deaths occurred in Washington, but almost 67% of the total were suicides. 

Holy raised issues with the “constant attempt at encroachment on the Second Amendment and at the state level,” citing protections in the Washington State Constitution. Sen. Javier Valdez, D-Seattle, followed, voicing support for the amendment despite not adding it to his original version or that of last year’s SB 5444. 

Now, I’m glad to see that Valdez supported the carveout for concealed carry licensees, but why didn’t he simply include that provision in his version of the legislation? Was he hoping to get a clean “gun-free zone” bill across the finish line, but backed off when he started counting the votes? 

Regardless of his reasoning, while the amended bill is far better than Valdez’s original proposal, the fundamental premise of the legislation is still inherently flawed. 

“Is it another unfunded state mandate,” Sen. Phil Fortunato, R-Auburn, told the committee. “And that’s sort of anecdotal, but I mean, there’s a couple of things that bother me about this.” 

Fortunato said SB 5098 does what the state tried to prevent by largely preempting municipalities from adopting local gun control measures. The preemption blocks a legislative “patchwork quilt,” allowing residents to move freely without complicating the law. 

He and Sen. Keith Wagoner, R-Sedro-Woolley, both noted a lot of mass shootings occur in gun-free zones, like schools. Fortunato said the areas essentially create a “shooting gallery.”

“If you look around the country, the areas that have the most restrictive gun ownership laws have the most violence,” Wagoner said. “This bill also creates more soft targets, where bad people who don’t follow the rules know there’s nobody there to fight back.”

Wagoner’s right, but don’t underestimate the emotional appeal to gun control advocates (and many non-gun owners) of declaring someplace off-limits to carrying a firearm, even if most of them are smart enough to understand that someone with nefarious intent isn’t going to be stopped by a sign that says “no guns allowed”. 

Gun owners in Washington State need to urge their lawmakers to reject SB 5098, but at the very least they need to support the amendment exempting concealed carry holders from the 5,000 or so “gun-free zones” that would be created by the bill. That language could always be stripped out of SB 5098 as it makes its way through the legislature, and it would be a mistake to assume the exemption will remain in place without gun owners and 2A advocates speaking out.